7 Smart Habits Of Great Innovators

Thomas Edison was a successful innovator, in part because he was constantly trying new things. AP Photo/J. Walter Thompson The biggest misconception about success is thinking that what you did yesterday will help you succeed tomorrow.

But in order to stay on top of your game, your business, your leadership, you need to keep innovating.

To continue innovating you have to keep learning, thinking, questioning, exploring, experimenting, associating, and intersecting ideas.

Develop these habits to become more innovative:

1. Constantly connect the dots.

Great innovators have a habit of constantly contemplating and observing in order to successfully make connections to seemingly unrelated issues and ideas. When you connect the dots, you gain new insight and see relationships that were invisible before.

2. Commit to asking questions.

Great innovators have the habit of curiosity. Constantly ask questions — even things you think you know, you can explore in new ways by learning something new through a question. Challenge the knowledge you already have and learn new wisdom. The hardest part of establishing this habit is not the search for answers, but in coming up with great questions that lead you to revealing answers.

3. Actively try new things.

Great innovators have a habit of actively trying out new ideas by creating prototypes and launching pilots. Think of Edison, who said, "I haven't failed. I've simply found 10,000 ways that do not work." The real voyage of innovation is not in seeking new horizons but seeing the horizon from a new perspective.

4. Find points of intersection with others.

Great innovators have the habit of finding and testing new ideas through a network of people and organizations. Innovation is something that happens when we intersect with others. For ideas to germinate and for innovation to happen, a diverse set of perspectives, thinkers, questioners, and doers is required.

5. Have a sense of purpose.

Great innovators have a habit of being powered by their passion and use it as a sense of purpose. Their purpose is to make an impact and a difference. So they are not satisfied with what is, and they don't ask permission to change the status quo. They are driven by their sense of purpose.

6. Cross-pollinate ideas.

Great innovators have a habit of combining surprising things. Creativity happens when two things collide to create a whole new idea, and insight requires that we solve challenges with new perspective. That happens best when you can work with those outside your industry or field.

7. Make innovation a daily routine.

Great innovators make a habit of learning and innovating. It's not something that they do by accident, but through a daily ritual of learning or trying something new. If we want to become a master of anything, it takes discipline and commitment. Innovators make growth and learning part of their work, rather than rely on it to come to them.

Adopting these seven habits boosts your level of learning and creativity — which, in turn, leads to innovation and change.

Every innovator, creator, leader, business wants to know that they are creating an impact and are challenging the status quo to make things better.

Where can your spirit of innovation take you?

Read the original article on Inc.. Copyright 2018.
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